Like on Krypton, but on Earth
by fights
Summary: Annoyed at Superman's alien abilities, Batman starts to distance himself from Superman so Clark has to show Bruce that he's a just country bumpkin who falls in love the same way he would on Krypton. SLASH Batman/Superman
1. Prologue 00

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_Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from DC. Nor do I own Batman or Justice properties.  
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**Like on Krypton, but on Earth****  
**_by fights_

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[**prologue**]

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Batman doesn't realize he cares about Superman until he's digging down into the rubble for him, pulling back heavy stones that roll to the side. He knows Superman can go without breathing for hours and he can be hit by buildings and still stand. Superman is not a human. Superman is an alien from outer space whose planet has blown up and has travelled through space and was fine.

When the last stone rolls away, it's plain to that Superman was never there.

"I zoomed away in time," Superman says, logically.

He steps down beside Batman and then Kryptonian pauses. "Batman?"

Superman can move faster that any human can, of course he ran away faster than Bruce could see.

"Batman?" The Dark Knight brushes Superman aside and walks away slowly.

There was no point in worry about Superman's feelings, if he was impervious to everything else.

"Batman," the Flash appeared at his side and swung an arm around him. "Hey–!"

"Not in the mood," Batman cuts quickly.

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to—" The batmobile slid open and Batman stepped into it, "he sure is grouchy."

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"Clark Kent called again."

Bruce doesn't bother responding. He has a lot of problems in Gotham. Poison Ivy and Harlequin teamed up again and they would always make away with a percentage of the funds and objects they stole, even if he recovered their loot. Then the penguin could never ignore the incitement of fast money. And the Joker could always be counted to act on a holiday, be it a government one or a religious one.

"He said he wanted to talk to you personally," Bruce continued tapping on his computer.

"Shall I tell him that you are ignoring him?" He could almost see Alfred's smile, "he is on hold."

Bruce's fingers curled on the keyboard, pausing in thought.

"Make up a story."

Alfred leaned to look at Bruce's face and sighed only seeing Batman's face. "Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned."

"Are you insinuating that I'm mad at Clark for something?"

"Nothing, Master Bruce." He listens to the sound of walking. The claps of Alfred's feet up the stairs, stunted. "Master Bruce, I'd much enjoy to live to see you get married."

The screens change with videos of friends and still pictures of foes alike, the Flash is drinking in a bar with the Trickster. The Green Lantern and Hawkgirl have just met for a home-cooked meal. Wonder Woman is enjoying a cup of tea with J'onn, but Superman screen has been black for days.

"Hey, Batman." Conner Kent. He'd warned the half-Kryptonian boy to cease wandering into his bat cave. At least he had growled at Kon-El to insinuate as much.

It was bad enough that the clone turned out to be Clark's son, but Luthor's as well. When the half-Kryptonian took to girls outside of his bat clan it was fine, but when the boy started to pursue Tim Batman had made sure to warn the youth to keep his distance. But Tim invited the young Luthor heir into his home repeatedly, even after Bruce disapproved.

"Hey dad's screen is off," Conner smiled at the black cube, oblivious to the mood Batman was in today. "You ARE mad a dad."

"Get out, Conner."

"I was just joking," Conner stepped back at Batman's harsh stare, being invulnerable made him think he was invincible.

"You better listen to to him Conner." Tim arrived just in time from his patrol to save his friend from his only weakness. "Sorry, Bruce—"

"What have I told you about using my name?" Batman snapped.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," the chair whirled back and Batman continued his never ending work. "Just don't it again."

He listened to the two teens bicker back and forth. "What have I told you about snooping around? Conner, he could have used his Kryptonite on you."

"Whoa. No, he wouldn't."

"Yes, I would." Batman replied without a smile while they were still in ear shot.

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"Flash, call Batman."

"You call Batman." The Flash folded his arm and leaned against the wall, "I am not calling Batman. Not when he's in one of his moods."

"I already called Batman." Wonder Woman sighed, "he'll only alien invasions."

"Sounds like he's turning into Luthor," Superman tried not to slouch, it hurt his image. Bruce was a bit like Lex as he hated meta-human and Lex hated aliens ever since he realized his Smallville friend was one. "Wait! That's it?"

"Luthor's gotten him in mind control, Supes, you gotta stop that man."

"No, Batman is upset that I'm not human." Flash watched as Superman turned around and began to move to the transporter, "he's always hated me for being Kryptonian..."

"That's bullshit!" The Flash called out, shouting even though Diana motioned for him to lower his voice. "That's so racist of him, just because you're stronger than him..."

"No, he's right," J'onn replied. "Batman was looking for Superman in the rubble, but Superman—"

"I need to talk to him in person," Superman placed his hands on his sides, "you guys stay here."

"He won't talk to reporters," J'onn acknowledged Clark's intent with a smile, careful not to share his knowledge with the rest of the league until Batman was secured.

"He's not going, so I'm going to talk to him."

Not Superman, not Clark Kent, but Clark.

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**Notes:**  
This is just a start. Like an intro and stuff. It will become on-going and more detailed like all my other fanfics.


	2. Chapter 01

_Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from DC. Nor do I own Batman or Justice properties.

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**Like on Krypton, but on Earth  
**_by fights

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[**CH 01**]

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"Clark Kent is at the door, Master Bruce." Batman continued at his console, Alfred grimaced. When the databases were being updated and the collection rearranged for optimal space, it was a slow day.

On a good day, there was nothing that a workaholic could do but make his own life harder for himself. And Bruce had people on his payroll just to keep Wayne Enterprises running smoothly, and even there his underlings were stressed.

"Ignore him Alfred," Batman deleted and rewrote a whole sentence without any changes. "He knows not to bother me."

"Master Bruce, Superman knows not to bother you when you're ignoring him, even if he wants to say sorry?" There was a long, introspective pause as Alfred watched himself being watched as the Butler carefully tracked the motion of Bruce's fingers. "This is Clark Kent after all."

Bruce's finger twitched, jolting temporarily.

He folded his hands, eyes lowering and fingers curling in. There were days, days that Bruce wanted to walk up to his ward and console him, but the Batman character would not allow it. Alfred knew deep down how important that infallible phantom image was to Bruce, and all these years he was unable to me it not.

"Clark Kent doesn't have anything to apologize for," came the delayed response, the clacking of self assured keys followed in suit. The document had changed to a new design plan, something fresh other than perfecting old documents. "And Bruce Wayne doesn't fraternize with reporters, especially ones from his own paper."

The old butler sighed, he was tired of Bruce's fearfulness of losing his loved ones but he understood it. And he also knew this was something new, Bruce was losing his own youthfulness. Three Robin's later and Bruce had gone through the raising of three difficult youths into amazing adults.

"It's raining, Master Bruce. It would be bad form to leave him in the rain."

Alfred stopped and then smirked, "stop that Alfred."

"It's nothing Bruce," Alfred took a step up.

Bruce on the other hand was cupping his red face. Whatever was going though his mind was something—something interesting indeed?

With a slight turn of his head, Alfred added, "we should extend a gracious invitation to him. After all he could have roasted you for the playboy you are."

"Very funny Alfred," came a muffled voice, Bruce had his mouth cupped in a gloved hand in thoughtful, bashful introspection. A rare emotional struggle and sheer stubbornness on trying to ignore the obvious...

And that the obvious was embarrassing the World's Greatest Detective.

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"It's a very busy project," Alfred set the glass of milk at the table with the tray. "He's been working at his desk with the level of concentration one would need to extract venom from a snake,"

"If he were the snake," Dick Grayson beamed as he nudged the news reporter. Clark was still standing up, dripping onto the tile and looking uncomfortably wet but when Alfred and touched Clark's hand he seemed as warm as someone standing indoors in front of a fire.

Dick raised his glass in a small toast, "hey Clark, it's slow for me too."

Metropolis was unusually busy, but it seemed some criminals were fleeing Gotham's Dark Knight and would rather take it up with the milder Superman instead. But Bruce could be chasing them to his city out of some unspoken grudge or THE unspoken grudge that had the Watchtower silent as a mouse.

That 'Batman was mad at Superman for some reason, and down say something about it because Batman is definitely watching you when you are sleeping.'

"With Batman putting away all the criminals all I can do is nothing and a lot of menial chores," Clark watched Dick sprawl despite the previous prompts from Alfred to straighten up. Alfred had slipped out briefly and Clark pondered if that's where Bruce had learned his stealth. "The Bat won't come out of his cave. He seems a little shy these days."

"Shy?" Bruce? Clark smiled, Bruce could be considered a bit shy whenever you pressed him for the wrong answer. Shy enough to disappear even if you were watching him with both eyes, "Really."

"I still have to do some patrols... Hey, you could come with?" Superman in Gotham, Bruce would kill him.

"I'm not planning to be Superman today. In fact I actually drove here." It was strange to drive when Clark had usually run or flew places to save on his income. He had borrowed the truck, which got him some teasing from his mother and some graciousness from his father. As if he was supposed to borrow the truck years ago for some reason, but even Clark knew he was a late bloomer.

"Really, from Metropolis to Gotham, that is far!" Alfred was already forcing a towel onto Clark, annoyed on his state of wetness. "You should stay the night. Master Bruce will probably be out looking for mischief if he isn't already."

"I heard that," Bruce stepped into the room with an unreadable face.

"Clark," the Prince of Gotham stated in tone that made Clark shiver.

Searching Bruce out, trying to speak to him all this time and like he always did, Bruce still got the first word and punch in.

It was hard to imitate being flustered when you were used to acting flustered without being flustered, Bruce would probably frown on all the attempts Clark made convince humanity that he were one of their flock. Just over thinking it was causing him grief, Clark adjusted the fake glasses he worse and started to fret about them too. Bruce also knew that Clark's glasses were just a part of his Clark Kent, the news reporter persona, so it was hard to stay cool with that in consideration. He was Clark before he knew he was Superman and Clark before he was a news reporter.

Now he had to get to the root of the problem without using his 'natural' talents or doing anything else that would piss Bruce off.

And with Bruce, that could be anything.

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TBC!

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**Author's Note:**  
Honestly, as a writer I have no idea where this story is going right now but I know there is going to be a lot of wooing. Like "d'awww." Like how Jonathan got Martha.


	3. Chapter 02

_Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from DC. Nor do I own Batman or Justice properties._

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**Like on Krypton, but on Earth  
**_by fights_

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[**CH 02**]

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He had complicated the situation himself, Bruce only had himself to blame.

Sifting through that rubble, Batman had exposed himself. Bruce allowed himself to slip out of a logical frame of mind. He had become vulnerable in a moment when he should have been infallible.

It haunted him, that moment. He worried about a superhuman being that in almost every situation but a handful Clark would be still safe. But he still looked for him under the rubble. Logically, even if he were to make quick assumptions, Batman faltered.

He faltered.

'Unattainable,' that was the word that rang inside his head.

And in the end, he was looking for something that was never there at all.

Rain droplets tapped against the window pane and dribbled down slowly against the clear glass. Despite the darkness, the night seemed to illuminate the kitchen as the curtain was pulled open and tied. Bruce tried to focus his thought away from the Pandora in that moment. The day he realized something that he should have remained oblivious about.

Bruce lowered his mug of coffee down and reading one of several newspapers.

From a distance, Bruce was like Batman. Clark spent very little time with Bruce outside their suits as civilians.

The news reporter found himself captivated as the Gotham prince hunched over the paper spread, not at all looking like his celebrity persona. The handsome, glamorous features of Bruce's face, his square chin, beautiful blue eyes. Alfred occasionally popped in four times, occasionally moving plates, checking on objects, but overall snooping. Although Bruce did not lift his head once to acknowledge his old butler, focusing everything to talk party planning and holidays, there was the electrical feeling that he was focusing on Clark.

"Are you mad at me?" Clark asked, he stood, holding his

"No," Bruce turned a page with wrinkled eyes and a furrowed brow.

"Are you just saying that?"

"Clark," Bruce stared down and paused. He was looking a page with Clark in a colour photo...

Clark was here in the room. Clark was the sound trailing his mouth, into a word. He looked up and away from Clark, but felt irritated from being cornered. There was nowhere he could go to forget how much he cared, how much it crushed him when he realized he didn't have to care and the... When he was dressed in Batman and Superman was just there and he didn't have to worry anymore and the he worried about the future. Past that moment, but it was the second that Batman realized he cared so much that he would bruise his palms lifting rocks and without thinking, instinctually. Because he cared about Clark, realized then that he cared more than he was supposed to and he stepped out of a professional role and...

Bruce rubbed his face, running his fingers over his eyes, over and over again.

"How am I supposed to make you happy?" Clark was beside him, he moved so fast but Bruce couldn't give him the satisfaction of being heard or noticed. "What would make you happy?"

Something inside him said, 'leave.' But Bruce didn't say it, the smell of Clark. Sunflowers, sunlight, sweat and cologne... The newsprint and ink were affiliated with Clark. There was no way he could turn away.

"Are you just going to shut down on me Bruce?" Clark was carefully not to touch Bruce.

Bruce knew how to cut without cutting, hurt without moving. Just with words, Bruce knew how to cut Clark down in so many ways. The news reporter didn't know how far he could go with Bruce, but he knew this was his tiny glimmer of a possibility to.

Bruce wasn't telling him to leave and that was enough. He wasn't shouting and making demands, he wasn't using kryptonite, he didn't say no but he also didn't say yes. All Clark hoped was that no one was home and no one would walk in and ruin his chance. He needed to grab it, he was losing Bruce and it scared Clark. He didn't want Bruce to hate him, he tried his best to be competent and perfect and do the right things that would make Bruce stop yelling at him and maybe smile.

He liked Bruce.

Clark liked Bruce.

He tried to shove the feelings away, but he liked Bruce.

And he wanted Bruce to like him, even a little. Even if Bruce couldn't like him as he liked a girl, even if Bruce tolerated Clark. But he didn't want to be the reason Bruce walked out of everyone's lives in the Justice League and his own.

Wally said that Bruce would never leave Crime fighting, but he would disappear without a trace and keep fighting crime. Thinking about Bruce disappearing, Bruce was good at being invisible in plain sight when he wanted. Even as a playboy billionaire.

All of Clark's feeling welled up and became muddled. There was fear, Clark was afraid and at the same time he wanted things to change. He had some hope that things would mend between himself and Bruce and maybe get better. That they would reach a solution... Where Clark could be a part of Bruce's life without being on the outskirts of it.

He didn't want to lose Bruce. He cared about Bruce so much, so unprofessionally Batman could help but hate him for it.

Clark gulped and Bruce's eyes snapped to the news reporter's neck. "I need to know, I want to be a part of your life, and I want to make you happy."

"I can't be happy, Clark." Came to response, neither here or there, almost as if Bruce hadn't spoken at all... or maybe it was Clark sinking slightly, becoming that shy Kansas boy that was afraid of girls and guys like Bruce.

"Bruce, you know. If I'm..." Clark felt his courage dwindling, he needed Bruce to say he wanted to say and he was bungling now and ruining his chances. Clark's hands shook and his almost tore his pants stabbing them into his poking in defeat, "making you unhappy, I'll leave."

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Bruce wanted him to go.

Bruce hated him.

Clark turned to exit silently and saw the door slide shut.

Alfred.

Kent felt embarrassment, that the old man had heard and there was something to see.

He had come all this way from Metropolis as a person... But it made him vulnerable.

"You're just going to let me leave," Clark said as he said, with growing realization.

He didn't come here for everything to end like this, for things to get worse. For Bruce and him to grow apart and never really know each other personally.

He didn't come here to lose Bruce.

"What am I doing?" Clark asked out loud and turned to go back and win only to see the expression on Bruce's face.

Bruce was staring at him with the same eyes he had when he was batman digging in the rubble.

"I care about you a lot." Clark blurted out. "I like you a lot Bruce."

Something in his voice cracked, and Clark felt embarrassingly young and vulnerable, "please don't hate me Bruce."

"I don't."

It was enough for Clark.

Batman couldn't crumble. He couldn't shudder or shake or be swept away by Clark. Even in emotion, even as a false persona. Batman felt his head being lifted against his will and his soft lips being placed on the edge of Clark's mouth where the constant motion of Clark's kiss held him there.

He couldn't even look at Clark, even though he could do nothing be feel him.

As if just looking at him would make him realize how much he cared about the alien and how weird that made him feel. Clark was just as vulnerable as he was. Pushing Clark away was the same as stomping on his heart.

He had seen the way Clark looked at him. Batman just dismissed the fact that Superman could like him in that way and prevented it from escalating out of professionalism. But Batman was the one who brought it to the point of no return, to the point he had to push Superman and Clark so far and stop attending Justice League meetings.

Bruce had realized it had gone too far.

"I'm sorry Bruce, is this okay? Just so you know you kissed me back too?" If Bruce was going to chase Clark out of Gotham with a pitchfork Smallville style, it would be now.

"No, it's no okay," Bruce replied, shoving Clark away to fold his arms.

"There was no plan for making this work," Bruce slid into his Batman role once more, becoming cool and collected. "I hesitated for things to become this complicated, I've got work to do."

"What? What do you have to do Bruce?" Clark crushed his eyes shut, lifting up his glasses and rubbing his eyelid. Things were going to be complicated, but at least he was happier. Br-Batman's standards were both high in expectations and low in quality as he dated both Catwoman and Talia, who were both villains. He didn't even really date them.

This was serious, Batman was actually dating him.

The last thing Clark heard Bruce grumble to a crowd of young superheroes and the Wayne butler was "shows over, Kon go home."

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TBC!

**Author's Note:**  
YES! Over 1700(?) words in two hours! WHOOOOO! CRISIS AND WRITERS BLOCK KICKED IN THE NUTS!


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